


A Different Hope

by sam_writes_fics



Series: Leia Kicks Ass [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Fusion, F/M, Force-Sensitive Leia Organa, Jedi Leia Organa, Role Reversal, Smuggler Han Solo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-21 04:58:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13733646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam_writes_fics/pseuds/sam_writes_fics
Summary: This is a retelling of Star Wars: A New Hope, but with the role reversal of Luke and Leia, and a heavy concentration of the relationship between Leia and Han Solo! I was inspired by @hanorganaas so go check out their role reversal story after you finish this one!





	1. Leia, the Farmgirl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter stars with Leia Skywalker at her family farm on Tatooine. Her uncle is planning on purchasing some droids to help out around the farm, and Leia uncovers something peculiar with one of the droids...

 “Leia! Tell your uncle that if he gets a translator, make sure it speaks Bochy!”

  
“Yes, Aunt Beru,” Leia replied as she jogged to catch up with her uncle. They were supposed to be buying new droids today from the Jawas, and Leia was excited. She thought that maybe if the droids worked out, Uncle Owen would let her send her application to the Academy a semester earlier than they had originally agreed on.

Leia Skywalker was already nineteen years old, and she was still working on her family farm with her Uncle Owen and her Aunt Beru, her legal guardians ever since her parents died soon after she was born. Most of Leia’s friends had already gone off to the academy, or whatever other adventure they had sought out. Actually, after last week when her best friend Biggs finally left, Leia was the only one left stuck on Tatooine.

  
Her mind was wandering elsewhere, thinking about flying starships in the Academy and going on adventures with her friends across the galaxy when she was forced out of her daydream by the sound of a loud popping noise. She turned around and found that one of the two new droids her uncle was in the process of purchasing had somehow broken and was spewing steam in three different directions.

  
“Uncle Owen! This R2 unit has a bad motivator!” Leia called out to her uncle after doing a quick assessment of the red droid.

  
“Excuse me miss,” said the droid still functioning, “but that R2 unit over there is in perfect condition. I have worked with him several times before, and I promise he will not disappoint.”

  
Leia exchanged a quick look with her uncle, and then he switched the red R2 for the blue one and told Leia to get them cleaned up in the house. She turned on her heel and told the two droids to follow her. The taller gold droid introduced himself as C3PO, and his shorter blue and white companion as R2D2 as they made their way back to the farm.

~~~~~~~~~~

After setting up C3PO in the oil bath, Leia took a look at R2D2 to see what kind of cleaning and tune ups he would require. She really wanted to make these droids as efficient as they possibly could be, so that Uncle Owen could see that he would do just fine on the farm without her. She noticed something looked almost stuck in one of R2’s compartments, so reached for a screwdriver and started to ease it out. It was in there pretty good, so Leia had to use a bit more force than she would have liked. However, once she started to feel the object loosening up and move slightly, her screwdriver slipped out of the cavern it was wedged in and Leia fell backwards. She sat up and was puzzled by what she saw.

  
There were streaks of blue light shining out of R2D2 forming a holographic image of a boy about her age. His hair was neatly combed, and he wore excellent quality clothes. He definitely wasn’t from anywhere around here. He wore a noble, yet worried expression. Leia could tell by this hologram that this boy was of some importance, but she had no idea where he came from. She thought he was actually rather cute; judging from his outfit he was a little too prim and proper for her taste, but cute nonetheless.

  
Just then, the hologram started moving. Leia watched as the boy leaned forward and gave something to R2D2. “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi,” he pleaded, “you’re my only hope.” After this line, the display would short circuit and start over from the beginning. Leia could tell there was more to this message from the way the video cut out at the end.

  
“Is there any way you could play the rest of the message?” she asked the R2 unit. The droid seemed reluctant to give up the rest of the message.

  
“He says that it is a message meant for our old master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he will not play it until it is delivered to him,” C3PO translated. “Frankly, I haven’t the slightest idea what he’s talking about, our last master was Captain Antilles.”

  
“Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Leia pondered, “I wonder if he’s related to old Ben Kenobi…”

  
Just then Aunt Beru called out to Leia to tell her it was time for dinner. Leia put away her screwdriver and washed her hands. As she left to meet her aunt and uncle, she turned to the droids and told them that she wanted to hear the rest of the message when she returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This is my first ever Star Wars piece of writing, and also my first role reversal story! Please let me know what you think in the comments below! More chapters are soon to come!


	2. Goodbye Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia finds that R2D2 has run away! With the help of C3PO, she finds the droid and a mysterious man who offers her the adventure of a lifetime...

Leia’s eyes slowly started to open. Her head was throbbing, and she had absolutely no idea where she was. When her eyes finally started to focus, there was an older man kneeling right next to her. His hair was white, and he wore a faded brown robe. As soon as she realized who he was, everything started coming back to her.  
When Leia returned from dinner the previous night, R2D2 had run away to find Obi-Wan Kenobi on his own. She deemed the search too dangerous at night with all the sand people out, so first thing in the morning she and C3PO headed out to find the little blue droid. Just as they finally caught up to him, they were ambushed by sand people. Leia remembered suffering a blow to the stomach which knocked her off her feet. She must have hit her head on the way down and that knocked her unconscious.

  
Her hand went up to meet the injured part of her head to see if there was any bleeding. There was no blood, but there would be a hell of a bump in a few hours. The older man noticed that Leia had finally regained consciousness and the two locked eyes. Leia felt this strange rush of recognition run through her, as if she had met this man before. She knew that was impossible, but she couldn’t shake this feeling of knowing who he was.

  
“Ben? Ben Kenobi?” Leia stuttered as the man helped her to her feet.

  
“You’ve had a long day,” Ben replied as Leia sat down on a rock next to him. “Tell me, what brings you out to these parts?”

  
“This R2 unit,” Leia replied, “it claims to be looking for its former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I thought maybe he was a relative of yours.”

  
Ben’s eyes grew wide as the sound of the name ‘Obi-Wan’ but only for a second. He paused as if he was debating on what to do with this new information. “Obi-Wan…” he pondered, “Now that is a name I have not heard in many years.” His eyes looked nostalgic, as if he was picturing the last time he had heard this name.

  
“I think my uncle knows him,” Leia chimed in, “he says he’s dead.”

  
“Oh no, he is not dead. At least, not yet,” Ben replied with a slight smile on his face.

  
“So, you do know him?” Leia asked, wanting to get on with this conversation. She was already way behind on her daily chores. Any more time wasted, and Uncle Owen would never let her go to the Academy.

  
“I would hope so,” Ben answered, “Obi-Wan is me.” He pointed to his chest to emphasize his point. “I have not gone by the name of Obi-Wan since before you were born.”

  
Leia gave him a puzzled look. She wondered why he would go by two different names. “This R2 unit claims to be your property.”

  
“Strange,” Obi-Wan muttered, “I don’t remember ever owning a droid…”

  
The way he said that made Leia feel like she was on the outside of an inside joke. Obi-Wan gave the droid a smirk and a peculiar look, as if they really had known each other before.

  
Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sand people not too far away. She looked at Obi-Wan and he seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, “the sand people will be back soon.” He started over towards Leia’s speeder.

Leia was unsure if she should go with him, but she definitely didn’t want to stick around for another encounter with the sand people. She figured she was already in loads of trouble by the time she got home, so what was another few minutes really.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leia drove Obi-Wan and the droids back to the Kenobi residence. Obi-Wan led them inside and they all sat together in his living room. Leia started working on repairing C3PO’s broken arm (thanks to the sand people) right away. Obi-Wan watched as she quickly maneuvered her way around the piece of metal with ease. She already reminded him so much of her father and the two had only just met. As if she could read his mind, she suddenly turned towards him with a curious look on her face.  
“Did you know my father?” she asked.

  
“Yes,” he replied hesitantly. He wasn’t sure if this was the right time or place for her to learn the truth about her parentage, so he proceeded with caution. “We fought in the Clone Wars together.”

  
“You fought in the Clone Wars?!” Leia asked excitedly. Her eyes were wide and her full attention was now on him. “My father didn’t fight in the Clone Wars, he was just a pilot.”

  
“I fought in them a long time ago, alongside your father,” Obi-Wan told her, “He was one of the best pilots the galaxy has ever seen, but he was also once a Jedi Knight, as was I. I trained your father, and the two of us fought many battles side by side. He was a good Jedi, and a good friend.” Obi-Wan looked away thinking about all the good times he had spent with Leia’s father. The training, the missions, the close calls; her father brought out the more adventurous side of Obi-Wan in his day. He missed that. When he turned back to Leia she was burying herself in her work on C3PO, digesting this new information before saying anything. In that regard, she was just like her mother. Her mother was always thinking about the impacts of everything before saying or doing anything. She was never impulsive, the total opposite of her husband.

  
Obi-Wan suddenly remembered about the lightsaber. He walked over to the chest around the corner and pulled it out. He moved back towards Leia and told her, “This is a lightsaber. It is an eloquent weapon, only to be used by the most skillful warriors. It once belonged to your father, and he wanted you to have it one day.” He handed Leia the lightsaber, and she turned it on. A streak of hot blue light rose from the small cylindrical handle. Leia moved it around carefully, testing its movement and weight. Soon after, she turned off the lightsaber and put it around her belt.

  
“I almost forgot!” Leia said suddenly, “I think there’s a message on the R2 unit for you. I tried to access it earlier, but it was stuck. Only a partial message would display.”

Obi-Wan flipped some switches on the droid and gave him a look. He knew exactly what R2 was capable of, and that the message was not actually stuck. “I think I’ve got it,” he said as he sat back down.

  
The hologram shone out of R2D2 onto the coffee table. Obi-Wan focused on the image for a moment, and recognized exactly who the man was. It was Luke Organa, Prince of Alderaan. He glanced at Leia to see if she recognized him. Based on her infatuation with the image, Obi-Wan decided she did not know him. That was probably for the best.

  
The prince spoke of needing Obi-Wan’s help in defeating the Empire. There were secret plans hidden in the R2 unit that were vital to the success of the rebellion. Luke’s ship had been compromised, but the droid managed to escape. The prince begged Obi-Wan to deliver the plans back to his father on Alderaan.

  
When the message finished, Obi-Wan leaned back in his chair. He stroked his beard and thought for a minute. He was getting too old to do these things on his own. If he were to successfully deliver this droid to Alderaan without being compromised by the Empire, he was going to need help. And he knew exactly who would help him.

“You must learn the ways of the force,” he said to Leia, “if you are to come with me to Alderaan.

“Alderaan!” she shouted, “No! I have to get home, I’m in for it as it is.” She stood up and began to move towards the door. Not quite the reaction Obi-Wan was hoping for, but one he was expecting nonetheless.

  
“I need your help Leia,” he pleaded, “He needs your help.”

  
“It’s not that I don’t want to help, I hate the Empire,” she reasoned with him, “but there’s nothing I can do about it right now. I can take you back towards my farm, and from there you can get a transport. I need to go home to my family.”

  
“You must do what you think is right Leia,” he replied. He suddenly felt a disturbance in the force as the two of them locked eyes. He followed her back to her speeder, only to realize just what they were headed back to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leia couldn’t stop thinking about the boy in the message, and Obi-Wan’s offer to go with him to Alderaan. She half expected him to try to convince her the whole ride back, but instead he was silent as they drove. She had completely forgotten about how much trouble she was going to be in once she got back. Leia dreamed of getting off this planet and going on adventures. She couldn’t explain how, but she had this feeling like going with Obi-Wan was what she was meant to do. She was really starting to get aggravated because she couldn’t shake the feeling when she pulled up to her family farm.

  
Her breath caught in her throat

  
The farm was covered in black smoke. It looked as if there was a massive fire that had just finished burning. Leia jumped out of the speeder and ran towards it. She started screaming for her aunt and uncle. She ran around what was left of her home, yelling louder and louder with each step. Her throat was beginning to burn, but she couldn’t stop. She ran faster and faster, until she turned the corner and froze dead in her tracks. There were two bodies lying side by side. The bodies were burned so badly, there were only skeletons left. She had no proof of it, but she knew that her aunt and uncle were no longer with her. She felt her heart drop. She turned away from the horrid sight and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

  
She quickly got herself back together, and made her way towards Obi-Wan and the droids. He explained to her that this was the work of storm troopers sent by the Empire. They were probably tracking these droids to find the secret plans the hologram spoke of.

  
Leia wanted to curl up in a ball and cry her eyes out like she did when she was a little girl. She had never felt this sad before. Amidst her confusing emotions, she knew that there was only one thing left for her to do. “I want to come with you to Alderaan,” she told Obi-Wan, “there’s nothing for me here anymore.”

  
Obi-Wan just nodded in understanding as the two made their way back to the speeder with the droids. Leia sat behind the wheel and started driving them towards town to find a way to get to Alderaan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry readers, I know this is supposed to be mostly a Han/Leia fic but I'm getting there! There will probably be one more small chapter before the two meet for the first time. Also, what did you think of writing from Obi-Wan's perspective for a little bit? I think I'm going to write from multiple characters' perspectives throughout this fic, but it will still mostly be from Leia's point of view. Let me know what you think about this chapter or the story as a whole and leave a comment!


	3. Close Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia and the gang finally arrive at Mos Eisley and have a close call or two while trying to find a pilot.

Leia had been driving for a little while now following Obi-Wan’s directions. She had been absent mindedly listening to him while really thinking about her newly deceased family. She already missed them so much. Leia had no idea how to exist in a galaxy that didn’t have her aunt and uncle in it. What she really hoped was that the Empire hadn’t made them suffer. Wherever they were now, Leia could still feel them with her. She had never lost anyone important to her before, but she knew the age old saying of how the ones you love never really leave you; they follow you wherever you go. When she was younger, Leia thought it was a load of crap that people just made up because they were sad. Now, she believed it more than anything. She just had this feeling, one that she couldn’t explain, that their spirits were still with her.

“So where are we going anyways?” Leia asked, desperate to break the silence and disrupt the unpleasant thoughts in her head.

“Mos Eisley space port,” Obi-Wan replied, “it’s quite an… unusual place. But, if we’re going to find anyone to take us to Alderaan, this would be the place.”

Leia had heard of this place before, but only through rumors. The truth is, she had never even come close to it. She heard through the grape vine that only the low-lives went there. The place was full of murders, smugglers, and guys just looking to pick a fight with anyone who crosses their path. Leia could only hope that Mos Eisley did not live up to its reputation.

They were finally reaching the edge of the city, so Leia slowed down her speeder. She traveled cautiously through the streets filled with wandering people and Imperial Stormtroopers. She was doing just about everything she could do blend in with the locals, when suddenly a group of Stormtroopers waved her down. _Shit._

“How long have you had these droids?” the one who seemed to be leader of the group asked.

“About three or four seasons,” Leia lied. She was trying to keep her cool and not raise any more suspicion. After everything that had already happen, this adventure would be brought to a sharp halt if they lost thr droids before even leaving the planet.

“Let me see your paperwork,” the Stormtrooper replied.

“That won’t be necessary,” Obi-Wan chimed in with a wave of his hand.

“That won’t be necessary,” the Stormtrooper repeated.

“These are not the droids you’re looking for,” Obi-Wan said while staring right into the helmet of the Stormtrooper. It was as if he could see his eyes behind the mask.

“These are not the droids we’re looking for,” the Stormtrooper repeated once again. All the other troopers nodded their heads in agreement.

“We may carry on now,” Obi-Wan said as he shifted in his seat so he was facing forward again.

“You may carry on now,” the leader replied.

Leia didn’t need him to tell her twice. She slowly stepped on the gas and the speeder started to move away. She looked in the rearview mirror and saw a bunch of extremely confused Stormtroopers all move in opposite directions.

“How did you do that?” she asked,

“The force works strong on weak minded people,” was the only response Obi-Wan gave her. She wanted to ask for some more clarification on what the force actually was, but it seemed that they had arrived at their destination.

“I think it is wise if the droids wait outside,” Obi-Wan said as they stepped out of the speeder, “we don’t want any trouble, and the folks inside do not take too kindly to droids.”

Leia nodded towards C3PO in agreement. They already had one close call, they really didn’t need another.

“Of course, master,” C3PO said, “we will wait right by the speeder.”

“Thanks 3PO,” Leia replied as she turned to follow Obi-Wan inside.

***************************************************

When Leia walked through the door, she immediately hated it. All the rumors she had heard about this place seemed to be completely accurate. She looked around at all the patrons, and they all seemed really tough looking. Her eyes quickly darted from one creature to the next after looking too long at one man and receiving a death stare in return. She stayed close to Obi-Wan as he walked up to the large bar in the center of the room.

The room itself wasn’t even that large, but the bar ran in a circle filling up most of it. It was a very lively place, and the bar was almost completely filled with people. Along the outer walls, there were several small caverns filled with booths and tables. They seemed like the quieter of the two seating options, providing a bit of privacy to the patrons.

Obi-Wan turned away from Leia and immediately started talking to a man. He gave Obi-Wan a few head nods, and then called over another creature. He was extremely tall, over seven feet, and completely covered in brown hair. Obi-Wan started talking to him in a low voice, which Leia was trying to hear when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?” some random creature asked her. He left his hand on her shoulder as he talked. “Pretty girls shouldn’t be in places like this, they’re only asking for trouble.” He pulled Leia closer.

This was not the first time Leia had been in a situation like this. She did not care for fancy clothes or spending hours doing her hair. She wore plain cream-colored pants with a matching shirt, and her hair was always pulled into a tight bun on the top of her head so it wouldn’t get in the way. Despite all that, Leia was naturally pretty. She never really paid any attention to it, even when the boys at school started to become interested in girls. She had several boys ask her on dates, ranging from nice boys to low-lives. However, she turned all of them down. Leia found they were always too immature for her to be wasting her time with them. Some of the boys did not take a liking to being rejected, and tried to get physical with her. She had been grabbed and pulled before, but she knew how to defend herself. The truth was, most of the boys had been left with far worse injuries than the slight bruises on her arms.

Leia pushed the man’s hand off of her shoulder as she replied, “I’m not looking for any trouble today, thanks.” The man didn’t seem to like that answer, as Leia had expected. She tried to turn away, but he grabbed her shoulder once again and spun her back around to face him.

“Well then, I think it’s time for you to leave,” he grabbed her arms and yanked her away from the bar. He was stronger than he looked, but Leia wasn’t worried just yet.

“Let the girl go,” Obi-Wan said to the man, as he finally realized what was going on behind him. Leia had a feeling the force was not going to work this time.

“Oh yeah?” the man taunted back, “Who’s gonna make me, old man?”

Leia saw this as her golden opportunity while he was distracted. She gave him a swift kick to the stomach to put some distance between them. He let go with one hand to grab his abdomen, but held on tight with the other. Leia grabbed his arm with both hands and twisted, expecting his shoulder to pop out or his elbow to break. However, she felt the arm do a complete rotation twice, and she knew something was wrong. She was strong, but not that strong.

She looked up see Obi-Wan’s face lit up by the glow of his lightsaber just before he retracted it and put it back at his side. The man was on the ground doubled over in pain. There was a pool of blood beginning to form where his left arm used to be. Leia dropped the now severed arm by his side and backed up a few steps. Everyone’s attention seemed to be on her for a split second, and then they went back to their routines as if nothing had even happened.

“I can defend myself you know,” she said to Obi-Wan, “I had the situation totally under control.”

“I know you did,” he replied as he started to move towards one of the booths with the hairy beast, “but we don’t have the time for you to get in fist fights with that man and his three friends behind him. I needed to show them we weren’t here to play games, so we could get a move on with our mission.”

Leia sat down next to Obi-Wan as the beast sat across from them.

“This is Chewbacca,” Obi-Wan said as he introduced the beast to her, “he is the first mate on a ship that may be able to help us.”

Chewbacca replied with a deep howl. Leia had done well in her language studies in school and immediately recognized it. “You’re a Wookie?” she asked.

Chewbacca nodded in reply. He seemed pleased that she understood what he was. He howled again, this time saying it was nice to meet her.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Leia replied, “My name is Leia.” She was fascinated with the creature. She had never even seen one before, let alone meet one, but she had read all about their kind in school. She could understand most of what he said, but she didn’t know how to speak back. That didn’t seem to matter though, as the Wookie understood English. Leia relaxed in her chair a bit. She was already liking this new adventure in her life.

“So,” she said to the group, “where is your captain?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be written from the point of view of Han Solo, and I am so excited to work on it! Hopefully it will be up in the next day or two, but no promises! Please leave a comment below and tell me what you think!


	4. A New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Han Solo had wandered into Mos Eisley on that day not knowing his life would be changed forever. This is where it started.

Han Solo and his first mate/best friend Chewbacca has just returned from a smuggling run for Jabba the Hutt, and they needed a place to relax. They had one too many close encounters with Imperial Starships for his comfort, and his nerves were all on end. He hated doing these runs for Jabba more than anything, but as long as he couldn’t pay off his debt in one piece, these runs were the only things that lessened the mountain ever so slightly.

As they walked into the cantina, they both began to feel a little more at ease. Han would never call anywhere on this dry desert planet home, but he had grown familiar with this place over many late nights filled with too much drinking and some very interesting females. Chewbacca didn’t care much for the women in this establishment, but they had some decent drinks so he stuck around.

They had just sat down at the bar for no more than ten seconds when someone across the room had called over Han. Han recognized the man as someone he had gone on several smuggling runs with; someone he would almost call a friend. Almost. He made his way over to the man after the bartender poured him a drink, but Chewbacca stayed where he was. He said his legs were too tired to move right now.

Han talked with his colleague for a decently long time while slowly sipping on his drink. Usually the first think he did when he returned from a taxing run was drink as much as he could with the leftover money he earned, and stumble back to his ship to pass out. However, this time he wanted to give this almost friend his full attention before he drank himself into oblivion.

As their conversation was dying down, Han looked back across the bar over at Chewie. He was talking to an older man in a brown cloak. Han didn’t recognize the man, but he figured whatever they were talking about must have been important given the serious looks on both their faces. He also noticed what looked like a little girl standing next to the old man. She was about five feet tall, and even that might be a stretch. Based on her height, Han thought she was way too young to be in a place like this, but her back was turned to him and the bar was covering most of her body for him to get a good look.

He watched as a regular creep around this cantina started talking to the girl. He put his hands on her, which made Han feel uncomfortable. She barely even looked phased by it. As she turned to talk back to the creep, Han got a better look at her. She was definitely a lot older than he originally thought, but not quite as old as him. Han had maybe a good eight to ten years on her, but then again, he always liked younger women anyways.

His eyes weren’t what they used to be so he still couldn’t really make out her face or any details about her figure. All he could tell was that she was short, and had brown hair tied in a very messy bun.

The girl tried to reject the man while staying as cool as she could. He could tell this wasn’t her first time around the block. The creep didn’t seem to be taking no for an answer, so he started to pull her away from the bar and towards the door.

Chewbacca seemed to finally see what Han was seeing as he turned the old man around to look behind him. Then, in one swift motion, the girl gave the guy a swift roundhouse kick straight to the stomach. _That had to hurt,_ Han thought.

The man leaned over to protect his now injured stomach, but the girl didn’t hesitate. She grabbed his arm and twisted, just as the old man pulled out what looked like a lightsaber and cut the guy’s arm clean off. She did not look too happy at the old man ruining her moment.

Han laughed to himself as he took another sip of his drink. First, he couldn’t believe that he had just seen a lightsaber in action. He hadn’t seen that kind of weapon since he was a little kid, no one used them anymore. Second, he couldn’t believe how much he misjudged that girl by. She seemed to be able to hold her own, and that amused him. He didn’t meet many women who would be good in a fight. He was liking her more and more already.

Just as he was thinking about going over to talk to her, she and the old man sat down in a booth with Chewbacca. _Oh, this is perfect._ He knocked back the rest of his drink and started to make his way over. Chewbacca seemed to see him start to move and he motioned for him to come over. Something about the look on his face told Han that this was more about business than pleasure.

“Hi,” Han said as he slid on the bench next to Chewie, “Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon.”

Han got one good look at the young girl’s face and instantly froze. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had deep brown eyes that were soft, yet sharp at the same time. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, and her hair was the prettiest shade of copper-brown he had ever seen. Her lips were full, but not too big, and she had an almost happy look on her face, as if whatever the conversation had been about prior to his arrival had pleased her. Han was so mesmerized by her, that he didn’t hear what Chewie was saying until he kicked Han under the table.

“What?” the words stumbled out of his mouth.

The Wookie let out a howl and introduced the old man as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the girl as Leia Skywalker. He explained how they were looking for passage on a ship to the Alderaan system.

“We need to get there fast,” Leia said fully bringing him out of his trance, “is your ship fast?” She gave him a skeptical look, as if she was trying to decide what to think of him.

_Play it cool man,_ he thought to himself, _what the hell are you doing._ He straightened up in his seat and arched an eyebrow at her. “Have you ever heard of the Millennium Falcon?”

“No,” she replied blankly. She was not impressed.

“Should we have?” Obi-Wan asked.

“It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs,” Han boasted as he leaned back in his seat. Talking about his ship and her victories was Han’s favorite pastime. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows and gave him a look disbelief. Leia looked unamused.

“I’ve outrun Imperial Starships, and not the small local kind either. I’m talking the big ones from the larger solar systems.” Han paused to let that fully sink in. “She’s fast enough for you.”

Obi-Wan still didn’t look impressed, but Han could have sworn he saw Leia look mildly impressed for 0.2 seconds.

“So, what’s the cargo?” he asked.

“No cargo,” the old man replied, “only passengers. Ourselves, two droids, and no questions asked.”

Han gave him a quizzical look. This was certainly not his first time going on a secretive journey, but he at least liked to be informed about what was to not be said.

“Let’s just say we would like to avoid any Imperial entanglement,” Leia said as she gave him the once over. She looked him up and down with absolutely no change of expression on her face. Han thought that was odd. He knew that he was a handsome man. Women gave him the once over and were usually impressed. Not Leia.

“Well that’s the real trick isn’t it,” Han said as he folded his hands on the table, “and that’s gonna cost you something extra. 10,000 all upfront.” Han knew the price was high, but he just got back from his last trip. If he was going to get up and leave again already, it better be worth it. Plus, he was expecting the old man to barter with them until they agreed on a middle ground.

“10,000?!?!” Leia exclaimed. “We could almost buy our own ship for that much!”

“Yeah, but who’s gonna fly it, princess?” Han had no idea where that nickname came from, or why he even said it.

“Me!” Leia was getting angry. She was standing up leaning across the table starting right at him now. “I’m not such a bad pilot myself, and I am most certainly NOT a princess.”

Han was expecting her to become furious, but she surprisingly collected herself and sat back down all without breaking the sharp glare she was giving him. _Princess. Yup that’s staying._ He kind of liked how she looked when she was angry, and he was eager to explore it even more.

“We can give you 2,000 now and 15,000 more when we get to Alderaan.” Obi-Wan replied to Han’s original offer.

“Seventeen huh?” Han pondered the offer for a minute. He looked at Chewie who just nodded back. “Alright, you’ve got yourself a ship. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready, docking bay 94.”

“94,” the old man repeated. He looked around the room and became fully alert at the sight of Stormtroopers. “We’ll meet you there.”

Obi-Wan and Leia rushed out of the cantina. Chewie started to make his way out too. Han tried to follow, but he was stopped by one of Jabba’s men. He pulled Han into a side booth and started asking about Jabba’s money from the last run. Han tried to tell him that he didn’t have the money with him right now, he’d bring it to Jabba once he got it off his ship. The man did not like that answer and wanted to bring Han to see Jabba himself. Han didn’t have the time for this, or to go to Jabba’s. He slowly lowered his hand to unhook his blaster from his belt, and quickly fired it into the guy’s chest.

No one even gave them a second look. That’s what Han loved about this place. He tipped the bartender extra for the mess and he went on his way. With the money Han stood to make from this easy trip to Alderaan, he could pay off his debt to Jabba entirely. He would finally be free of this goddamn planet and that goddamn Hutt. Han was practically skipping out the door he was so excited about the possibilities of his soon to be freedom. Besides, Han was already falling behind to Chewie in impressing his new lady friend, and he had some catching up to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I had this chapter up way sooner than I expected because I just couldn't stop writing! I'm having a lot of fun writing this series, and I hope you guys are enjoying it! Don't forget to leave me a comment below with what you think!


	5. Green Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang makes their escape off Tatooine and set their course to Alderaan! Leia has a nightmare that just may or may not be real...

Leia and Obi-Wan had gone separate ways from Han and Chewbacca. The pilots had to prepare the ship for take off, and Leia had a speeder to sell. She had gotten more than she had expected for it (it was by no means the latest model, but Leia was an excellent negotiator), but still not as much as she would have liked. She practically built speeder with her bare hands, after her aunt and uncle had given her an old model speeder that didn’t even work anymore for her thirteenth birthday. She spent every spare moment she had working on fixing it up to be operational once again. It took her two years to even get the motor started, but slowly she started to make it functional once again. With all of her adjustments and improvements, that speeder was almost as good as some of the newer models. Almost.

She reunited with R2D2 and C3PO after her sales transaction, and the three of them plus Obi-Wan started to make their way towards docking bay 94.

Leia wasn’t quite sure what to make of their so called “captain” just yet. Sure, he was an attractive man. He was tall, almost a whole foot taller than herself, and he looked strong. Leia didn’t know where a pilot would exactly acquire such muscles, or why he would need them to fly ships, but she wasn’t complaining about it. He looked almost a decade older than her, but for some reason she didn’t think that made him any more mature.

The part she had trouble with was his attitude. She could sense his arrogance from the moment he sat down. She actually rolled her eyes when he introduced himself, but she didn’t think he noticed. The way he went on and on bragging about his ship, she figured that was the only thing he loved more than himself. Leia usually despised braggarts the moment she met them, but something was telling her there was more than what meets the eye with this one. Maybe it was this “force” thing Obi-Wan kept talking about, or maybe it was just her intuition.

When they arrived at the door of the docking bay, Chewbacca was waiting for them at the door. As he greeted them, he peered around the corner almost to check if it was safe to go inside. He nodded his head in the direction of the ship led the way down the corridor.

As they were walking, this massive slimy creature came towards them. He exchanged a quick word with Chewie in passing, and then eyed her as he made his way by. It gave Leia the chills.

“Who was that?” she asked.

“That,” replied Chewie with yet another howl, “was none other than Jabba the Hutt, the biggest gangster on Tatooine, literally and figuratively. Han and I, uh, we do work for him sometimes. Minor stuff.”

Leia knew she wasn’t getting the whole story, but she decided not to press it any further. She had heard the name before, and knew his reputation all too well. He was synonymous with giving out loans with alarming interest rates. Her Uncle Owen told her to never do and type of deal with him. He said that once, long before she came into his life, he took out a loan from Jabba, and it took him almost ten years to pay it off. Leia stayed far away from that man ever since. She figured he must have been meeting with Han about some “minor work stuff”, and Chewie had been waiting for him to leave. Something seemed sketchy about that, but she’d work out the details later.

They rounded the corner of the docking bay and Leia’s jaw hit the floor. _This_ was the infamous Millennium Falcon that was supposed to be able to outrun Imperial ships? This is what she just sold her prized speeder for?

“What a piece of junk!” she screamed. Obi-Wan nodded in agreement.

Han spun around so fast it made her dizzy. His face was all bunched up and he seemed annoyed at her comment.

“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts,” he spat back at her. “I’ve made a few adjustments myself, and she can make the jump to light speed in point five.”

Leia had never traveled at light speed before, so she had no idea what that meant. The blank expression on her face only seemed to anger the captain more for not being impressed with his statement. He looked like he was about to defend his prized ship one more time, but he bit his tongue.

“If you don’t mind, we’re in a bit of a rush, so if you could just get on board we’ll get going,” he coaxed as they all followed Chewie on board.

Leia took a look around the inside of the ship. It was definitely an upgrade from the exterior, but it was still nothing special. The interior seemed highly functional, but where it lacked was in design. The style was about three thousand years old. She wandered down the hall a bit to see what this place had in store for their long journey. Down one way there were three doors: one on the left where she stood, one a little further down on the right, and the last all the way down at the very end wall. She opened the first door to find a mostly empty room with several bunks. This is where she and Obi-Wan would probably be staying. The bunks looked comfy enough; Leia wasn’t exactly picky. She closed the door and decided to keep exploring.

When she returned to the hallway, she saw Chewie emerge from the second door down the hall and make his way back to the control deck. Leia assumed that was his room, and it was best not to pry. The third door she could have safely guessed was Han’s room, but she was always too curious for her own good. She crept down the hall making sure no one could hear her. However, her exploration was cut short by two things.

The first was the door was locked.

The second was she heard blaster shots being fired outside the ship.

She quickly ran down the hall and found her place next to Obi-Wan who was calmly sitting in a chair behind Chewbacca in the control room. C3PO and R2D2 weren’t far behind, but they both looked extremely panicked.

The next thing she knew, Han was sprinting up the on ramp, glancing back every few seconds to send blaster shots to the guys outside. She caught a glimpse of one as he went down. Stormtroopers! They must have followed them here to find the droids.

“Chewie, get us out of here!” Han yelled as he frantically lifted the ramp to a close behind him. He ran right past Leia, almost knocking her down trying to get to the main controls.

Leia decided now was a good time to strap herself down to her seat. She fumbled with the mismatched buckles for a second, but she eventually figured it out. Obi-Wan seemed to already have his on. He was remaining unusually calm considering they were being shot at. Leia didn’t know how he did it.

She watched as Han’s hands moved over the controls. She had never seen a control board this big in her entire life, but he was handling it with ease. His hands were rough, probably from working on the ship so much. She could see permanent grease stains in the folds of his knuckles where it was hard to clean. They seemed oddly nimble, given their large size, as they moved over dozens of buttons and levers trying to get the ship off of the ground.

Suddenly, Leia felt movement. The ship was hovering off of the ground. It made its way out of the docking bay and into the vast expansiveness of space. Leia had never been off Tatooine before, and she would have really enjoyed this moment in her life had the circumstances been different. Just when she was ready to celebrate their escape, the ship was rocked from another blast.

“Imperial fighters,” Han answered her unasked question, “they must followed us.” The fighters were gaining on them, and Han was in full concentration.

“I thought you said this ship could go fast!” Leia barked at him, trying to push him to make the ship speed up.

“Chewie, try to hold them off while I make the jump to light speed!” Han yelled at Chewie as he spun his chair to the side and started to fumble with an entirely new set of controls. Chewie grabbed the main directional controls and started maneuvering them through the galaxy.

“If I can just made the jump to light speed, we’ll lose them in no time,” Han explained.

“How long will it take to make the jump?” Obi-Wan asked out of sheer curiosity rather than actual concern.

“It’ll take a few moments to make the calculations, but I think we can hold them until then,” Han replied.

“You _think_?!” Leia was practically screaming. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. Her finger nails dug into the soft material on the arm rests of her chair. Every single one of her nerves was standing on end. This was the craziest and scariest situation she had ever been in in her life and she was actively losing her cool.

“Alright Chewie, I’m gonna make the jump to light speed,” Han took the controls back from Chewie and slowly started raising one lever. The ship felt a force rocking it backwards, and then a split second later it felt another launching it forward at an alarming rate.

After the internal gravity balanced itself out, Leia let go of her arm rests. After everything that had happened to her today, from the death of her relatives, to the near death of herself and the only people she had left, her head started to spin.

“I think I need to go lie down,” she muttered as she started wobbling down the hall towards the bunks. It sounded like someone called out after her, but her head was throbbing so loudly in her ears that she couldn’t focus on anything but the soft feel of the pillow hitting her face.

 

* * *

 

 

Suddenly she was on a strange ship far, far away from home. Leia had no idea where she was or how she got there, but there was no time for that now. She couldn’t move, and she couldn’t speak. All she could do was watch and listen.

She saw the boy from the holographic message that R2D2 showed her in Obi-Wan’s living room. He was talking to someone, this man looked like some sort of general. Next to him was a man so cloaked in darkness that even his voice didn’t sound real. It sounded as if the mask on his face was some sort of machine. She was scared; this man radiated pure evil stronger than anyone she’s ever encountered before. He looked directly at her and a shiver ran down her spine. She couldn’t run, she couldn’t hide, and yet she didn’t have to. It was almost as if he was looking right _through_ her. In fact, it didn’t look like anyone could see her at all.

The general asked the boy where the rebel base was.

“I’ll never tell you!” he shouted back.

The two went back and forth a little more, but the conversation was muffled. Leia didn’t understand; she was right there next to them, but it sounded like she was three rooms away. She couldn’t make out anything else for the next few seconds. Even her vision got blurry, she couldn’t make out their lip movement either. She knew she had to concentrate as hard as she could, so she closed her eyes.

“NO!” the boy screamed out in terror. It was easier to hear with her eyes closed, so she opted out of the visual. The boy kept screaming, he was fighting his restraints with everything he had. There were tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. The veins in his head were showing drastically, and his voice was growing hoarse from the yelling. He wouldn’t stop.

The general pushed a few buttons while looking as calm as he could with a screaming teenager behind him. He stared out the window and waited.

Suddenly, Leia was on a planet. She was standing on a balcony, unable to move or speak once again. She was right behind an older couple, around the same age as Uncle Own and Aunt Beru were. They were looking out over the rest of this busy town their home was in.

A huge green beam of light shot down from the sky onto the planet in the distance. It slowly started to spread, like the waves of a nuclear bomb. The couple looked lovingly into each other’s eyes. They held hands in silence as they shared this last moment together before the destructive green blast came rushing towards them with more force than Leia had ever experienced before.

That was the last thing she saw before she woke up screaming.

 

* * *

 

Han locked the Millennium Falcon into autopilot on a course to Alderaan. He didn’t want to admit it, but that was a close call with those fighters. It wasn’t the first time Han got his crew out of a tight situation, and it certainly won’t be the last. He finally leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. Chewie went to see how much damage the ship had taken and if he could do anything to repair it. The old man went to meditate or “use the Force to reach out to Alderaan” or something, whatever the hell that meant. Leia had gone to lie down, which exactly what she needed right about now. She looked white as a ghost when they finally made the jump to light speed. He tried to ask her if she was okay, but she just gave him the cold shoulder.

He got the feeling that she didn’t like him very much. Han didn’t know why, he had been nothing but his usual charming self ever since they met. He thought that she would be impressed after he just saved all their asses. Instead, she just looked sick.

Han got up out of his chair and made the walk down to his room. He unlocked the door, kicked off his boots, and flopped down on his neatly made bed. Every morning as soon as he woke up, Han made his bed. It was something his mother had made him do every day when he was young, and it just kind of stuck with him even after all these years. Although, the rest of his room was anything but tidy.

There were clothes flung all over floor, Han didn’t know if any of them were clean or dirty. He assumed they were dirty, since his laundry bin was overflowing and he couldn’t even remember the last time he had anything cleaned. He made a mental note to do that when they landed on Alderaan.

He laid on his back for a few minutes, letting his muscles relax. The tension built up in his neck and shoulders slowly started to ease little by little. The muscles surrounding his spine began to relax as he lay perfectly still. He really wanted to sleep for a few hours, after the hell of a day he just had. But, he felt like he hadn’t showered in years, so that took top priority in his agenda.

He grabbed a clean pair of boxers and some comfier pants from his dresser and started to make his way towards his bathroom. He ditched his shirt and vest along the way, leaving yet another trail of clothes on the floor.

Han turned on the shower and let it run for a minute so the water would warm up. He took a good look at himself in the mirror. His facial hair didn’t grow very fast, so he still had a few days before it would be time to shave again. However, the hair on the top of his head was getting a pit out of hand. _I should ask Chewie for a haircut tomorrow._ Chewie was the best barber Han knew. The Wookie had to trim his own hair every couple of days, so Han figured he must have the most experience with a pair of scissors. Turned out he was right. Now, Chewie was the only one Han ever let cut his hair.

He stuck his hand in the shower and let the soothing hot water fall on his hand. It was hot enough for him, so he stripped himself of the remaining clothes on his body and got right in. He let the warm water wash over his face and his neck, easing any residual tension in his body from the impromptu escape. Han always loved a good shower after a long day on the job. It helped him relax and clear his mind of all the stressful things in his life. He kept telling himself that one day he would install a bathtub in this place, for complete and total serenity. He just couldn’t figure out how to sneak one on board without Chewie seeing him. The Wookie would never let him live it down if he ever caught Han wanting to take a bath.

Han took his time making himself clean again, and then finally stepped out of the shower. The entire room was filled with steam from the hot water, just the way he liked it. He dried himself off and slipped on his underwear and pants. He took a towel to his scruffy wet hair to dry it a little bit.

Han stepped out of his bathroom back into his bedroom and immediately felt a shiver run up his spine when his feet hit the cold metal floor. He walked over to his dresser and found a pair of warm socks.

He was sitting on his bed putting them on when he heard her screaming. He ran out the door as fast as he could.

 

* * *

 

“Leia! Leia! Wake up!”

When Leia opened her eyes, now she was back in a somewhat familiar place. She remembered where she was and where she was going. She knew this was reality and not another part of the dream because she could move and talk. She couldn’t stop shaking or screaming.

Well, actually the shaking wasn’t just her nerves. They were certainly part of it, but when Leia woke up she was staring right into the face of none other than Han Solo himself.

When she finally ran out of breath, and realized what she was actually doing, she stopped screaming and tried to calm herself. She could feel the tear stains on her cheeks. Her face turned bright red in embarrassment. She pushed the captain’s hands off of her arms and turned away, quickly wiping her face with her sleeves to salvage any dignity she had left.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Han asked. He sounded genuinely concerned. Then again, who wouldn’t be if they just heard a girl screaming for who knows how long.

“I- I’m fine,” she managed to say in between deep breaths. She was trying to slow down her heart rate and ease her nerves. She felt cold, freezing actually. She had these dark thoughts racing through her mind. She kept seeing people dying and screaming. All she wanted to do was make it go away.

Han sat down on the edge of the bed. He made sure to keep his distance from her, and she appreciated that. “If you’re so fine, then why were you screaming?”

“I had this horrible… dream?” She wasn’t quite sure what to call it really. It must have been a dream, she did wake up from it after all. If it was a dream, then why did it feel so _real_?

“What was it about?” Han asked. For a moment Leia thought he was just trying to push her boundaries, but when she looked into his eyes he seemed actually worried about her. She then took a figurative step back, and looked at the whole picture at hand. His picture.

The captain was wearing nothing but a pair of worn out sweatpants and thick wool socks. His hair was dripping down his neck and shoulders, which either meant he was sweating like crazy, or he was fresh out of the shower. Leia decided it was probably the latter.

He had ditched his half-unbuttoned shirt and vest to sport a bare torso. His chest was broad and strong. There was a small patch of light colored chest hair right in the center; not enough to make him look hairy, but just enough to show his age.

Her eyes slowly moved down to his abdomen, where she could see his nicely toned ab muscles contracting and expanding rapidly. She realized she wasn’t the only one trying to catch her breath. His abs were defined in a way that you knew there was definite muscle there, but not enough to seem like he consciously worked on it every day. Another healthy balance of his features that Leia found she really liked.

Han looked down at his own naked upper half. He must have caught her staring, because when his head flipped back up he had a grin on his face. Leia quickly averted her eyes and tried to remember what they were talking about before.

“I saw this boy… He’s the one that sent us on this mission to Alderaan. He was screaming. His eyes held so much pain in them.”

“Were they hurting him?” Han asked.

“No, not physically at least. This guy was talking to him, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Next think I know, the boy is screaming and then—” Leia paused. She didn’t know how to explain the next part without sounding crazy. She had absolutely no idea what that green light was or what it did to those people.

She wanted to try to explain it to Han. She thought that despite how crazy it sounded, he just might understand in some way. He was being very patient and kind with her. She was not expecting this from her initial judgment of him.

Leia opened her mouth to continue her story when C3PO walked into the bunk room. “Captain Solo, Master Leia, come quick! Something has happened to Obi-Wan!”

Leia and Han bolted off the bed and out into the common area of the ship where Obi-Wan was sitting in a chair. Chewie was bringing him some water. The old man looked like he was ready to faint.

“I felt a great disturbance in the force. As if millions of voices cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced…” Obi-Wan explained as he clutched his robes. He kept staring at the ground, except his eyes were closed. Leia knew he was using the Force to do something, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was. She thought about the green light in her dream.

She pulled Obi-Wan over to the side and told him all about her dream, even the parts she couldn’t explain. She told him she woke up crying and screaming. Leia figured that if anyone would be able to explain this feeling to her, it would be Obi-Wan.

“People who are what we call ‘Force-sensitive’ can have powerful dreams,” he explained. “Sometimes, these dreams are so powerful, they are actually scenes from the past, present, or future. They can be happening right next to you, or far away. The more trained you are in the ways of the Force, the more you can see and hear in your dreams. You have barely started your training, and that is why the sound was muffled and your vision went foggy.”

“Obi-Wan, who was the boy in the hologram message that sent us R2? He was the boy in my dream.”

A grave look settled upon Obi-Wan’s face. If he was starting to put the pieces together, he sure wasn’t cluing her in on it. “That boy is Luke Organa, Prince of Alderaan.”

“He’s a prince?!” Leia blurted out. This was not what she was expecting.

“Yes, but that’s not all he is. His father is the leader of the Rebellion, which makes him second in command: a position far more important than prince of Alderaan. That is why he sent us that message, and that is why he is sending us to Alderaan.”

Leia let everything Obi-Wan just said sink in for a minute. Okay, first, her dream might have been something that actually happened. She couldn’t explain it, but she just knew it was real. Second, if she was already sensing things this clearly with minimal Force training, then what the hell was she going to be able to do once she completed her training. Third, this boy just got a hell of a lot more interesting. After they delivered the droid to Alderaan, she was definitely making Obi-Wan take her to find the prince next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this far! This was definitely my favorite chapter to write so far, and I think it's my best work yet. If you made it through the first few not-so-great chapters to get to this one, I hope you're finally starting to this story is worth the read! Remember to let me know what you think of this chapter by leaving a comment below!


	6. Training Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia begins her training as a Jedi Knight. She also confides in Han about her past. Chewbacca tells it like it is.

After Leia and Obi-Wan removed themselves from the rest of the group to talk about who knows what, Han headed back to his room to put the rest of his clothes on. He was glad that Leia was okay. When he heard those screams he didn’t know what to think. But when he found her still asleep, most of his anxiety settled. It was just a bad dream after all. Leia had been trusting enough to confide in him about her dream, but he got the feeling that she didn’t tell him the whole story. He did get the feeling that she told Obi-Wan the whole story, and when he thought about this an unfamiliar feeling washed over him. It was a mixture of sadness and anger. Jealousy. Han knew what it was, but he had very few encounters with the emotion over his years. Especially in regard to a girl.

He shook it off and pushed open his bedroom door. The room was still a mess, and now was as good a time as any to start cleaning up. He picked up all the dirty clothes from the floor and tossed them down the laundry chute. The clean clothes were half folded and put back in his drawers. When he decided the room looked somewhat presentable again, he finally laid down for a minute and closed his eyes. A small nap couldn’t hurt, he figured. Han stretched out on his bed and drifted off to sleep, waiting for the sound of clean laundry to wake him up.

 

* * *

 

After Obi-Wan told Leia all he knew about her dream and the prince, she decided that she wanted to train in the ways of the force. Next time she had a dream like that, she wanted to be prepared and strong enough to hear and see everything. Obi-Wan told her that it would take some time to become quite that strong, but she still wanted to at least start.

Obi-Wan set up this floating orb that would shoot tiny laser blasts at her. They weren’t anything too dangerous, but they still hurt. She spent the better part of her day focusing on this tiny machine of destruction, trying to deflect its blasts with her lightsaber. She was getting pretty good at learning its movements by the end.

Until a certain captain came out of his room and decided to watch the show.

Leia was starting to like him a little bit more after their encounter in the bunks. She was grateful that he came to help her and that he listened to her without pushing her boundaries. His shirtless presence sitting on her bunk wasn’t sore on her eyes either.

This time he was fully clothed, sporting a clean shirt and very similar (if not the same) vest from earlier. His shirt was plain with four buttons leading up his chest towards his neck. He left them all unbuttoned and his shirt open wide. His hair wasn’t wet and scruffy looking anymore either. It was neatly combed and it made him look dashing. Leia was so distracted with scanning Han’s new appearance that she completely lost focus on the training machine and it blasted her right in the stomach.

“That had to hurt,” Han said as he slid into a chair next to Obi-Wan. “I don’t know why you’re bothering with that thing. Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.”

“You don’t believe in the Force, do you?” Leia asked. Admittedly, she was skeptical about it at first too. But after that dream about the prince, she was more accepting of the possibility that it did exist. She still had yet to “feel” it (knowingly at least) like Obi-Wan said she would, but she knew that it would come to her in time. Leia was a very patient person, and it took a lot to really get her annoyed with something. Usually.

She took another hit from the training droid, this time to her shoulder. Han let out the slightest laugh. Leia knew he was doing everything in his power to hide the grin on his face. Her face turned bright red and she retracted her lightsaber while turning away from him.

“Let’s try a new exercise,” Obi-Wan said as he tried to break the tension. “Put this on,” he instructed as he handed her an old fighter helmet. She put the helmet on and moved the blast shield up so she could see. Obi-Wan told her to leave it down.

“How am I supposed to defend myself against the training droid if I can’t see anything?” she asked.

“This is where you need to start using the force,” he replied. “Let it flow through you smoothly. Let it be your eyes and ears when you can’t use you own.”

Leia took a deep breath. She put the blast shield back down and closed her eyes. As she extended her lightsaber once again, she focused all of her energy on the small droid. A mysterious outline popped up in her mind. It was shaped like the droid! She followed the movements of the outline, swaying her lightsaber back and forth. The shape in her mind started to blast at her, but she could sense its movements before they happened. She knew when it would shoot and when it would dodge before it did anything. She quickly blocked five sequential shots from the training droid before it gave up and powered off.

She threw her helmet off with a huge grin on her face. Obi-Wan looked pleased with her results. Han, on the other hand, looked surprised. Clearly that wasn’t what he was expecting. Leia shot him a smug grin and raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to say something.

“Beginner’s luck,” he said when he caught her look. The surprised look on his face quickly washed away into a skeptical one.

“From my experience, there is no such thing as luck,” Obi-Wan replied. Leia could tell he was proud of her and she appreciated him trying to defend her efforts. Shew knew that if she kept training with him, she would become a Jedi Knight like her father before her in no time.

Han shrugged off Obi-Wan’s remarks and headed into the control room. Leia rolled her eyes and picked up the helmet again. She was determined to prove that she could control the Force, and it wasn’t all just beginners luck.

 

* * *

 

Han sat down in his captain’s chair and started making some calculations to check the autopilot. They were getting close to Alderaan, but they still had about another hour before they could come out of light speed. He adjusted their course slightly, and reset the autopilot. He also checked to see if the ship’s weapons were damaged at all in their speedy getaway. There were no signs of malfunction according to the main controls, which either meant they were lucky and took on no damage, or Chewie had already repaired them. More often than not, it was the latter that proved to be true.

As if he could read Han’s mind, Chewbacca came strolling into the control room with his hands covered in grease. He sat down in his own chair next to Han and leaned back exhausted. Apparently, he spent the whole day repairing the ship’s damage, or at least what he could repair while they were still in flight. When the two of them first started working together, Han would always help Chewie make the repairs. It didn’t take long for Han to realize that the Wookie was a much better mechanic than himself. He was faster, and he was better at spotting what damages needed to be repaired urgently rather than the ones that could wait until later.

Han also figured out that Chewie _liked_ to make the repairs, especially when he was alone. He told Han one time that it helped him take his mind off of things. The mindless work coupled with the silence helped him remember why he was even doing work like this in the first place. Han had a debt to pay off, so it was obvious why he made such dangerous smuggling runs. But Chewie, his story was different. Han was the only person he ever shared his personal life with, and that was the way he liked it. So, Han stopped helping with the repairs and instead started giving Chewie a slightly bigger share of their rewards.

Chewie looked filthy and exhausted, but this was nothing new. Han offered him a beverage, which the Wookie happily accepted. The two cracked their cans almost in unison and leaned back in their chairs.

“So,” Chewie finally started after a few moments of silence, “what do you think about these guys? The old man and the girl I mean.”

“Obi-Wan might be crazy, given the way he keeps talking about the Jedi’s and the Force and all that crap, but I think he’s harmless. Harmless to us at least.”

Chewie nodded in agreement and took another sip of his drink. “What about Leia?”

“What about her?” Han asked back.

Chewie gave him a look. “What do you think of her?” he asked.

Han paused for a moment and took another sip. “She’s beautiful,” he replied cautiously, careful not to say anything he might regret. “There’s something about her… Something that makes her different. I just can’t figure out what it is.”

Chewie started to smile. “You like her, don’t you?” he said with a wide grin.

“What’s not to like, she’s gorgeous, exactly my type,” Han replied nervously. He knew that wasn’t what Chewie meant.

“Han, don’t try to fool me here. It’s not going to work,” the Wookie howled back. “I’ve seen you flirt with countless women over the years, and it always ends the same. The conversation lasts ten minutes at the most, and then the two of you disappear for a few hours. The next time you both resurface, you look happy and she looks pissed.”

It was true. Han liked to meet these women and show them a good time. The only problem was, he never found enough reason to keep them around after. Some might say that he had commitment issues, but he knew it was just because he had never found a girl that he thought was worth all the effort. Maybe he was asking for too much from one person, but if there was one thing that Han never did, it was settle.

“What’s your point Chewie?” Han asked.

“My point is that Leia doesn’t seem to be as accepting with your advances as the other women usually are.” Chewie pointed out. “But, you keep trying. Which either means you’re actually starting to like this girl, or your psychotically determined on getting her to sleep with you.”

“I don’t like her Chewie, I barely even know her!” Han shouted. “And I’m not the other thing either. You make me sound like I’m some kind of creep.”

“Oh really? Then why did the two of you come running out of the bunk room while you were half naked?” The Wookie posed some hard to answer questions.

“That was not what it looks like. You know she had a nightmare, and I was just trying to help.”

“Without a shirt on?”

“Chewie!” Han yelled back. He was starting to get really annoyed with all of the Wookie’s stupid questions.

Chewie put his grease stained hands up. “Fine,” he replied defensively. “All I’m saying is that there’s something different about this one, you said it yourself. And I like her, she’s kind and funny. So, maybe don’t send this one running for the hills just yet.” Chewie stood up and gave Han a pat on the back as he left.

Han knocked back the rest of his drink and put his boots up on the dash. He closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head. There _was_ something different about her. Maybe Chewie had a point. Or maybe he had no idea what he was talking about. Besides, they would be arriving at Alderaan soon enough, and then realistically, he would never see this girl again.

“Hey,” a familiar voice said from behind him. Han was surprised by the unexpected visitor, and so his feet slipped of the ledge they were resting on, causing him to almost fall out of his char.

“Mind if I sit here?” she asked.

“No, not at all,” Han replied as he turned around to see Leia. This time she looked like the one who had just gotten out of the shower. She ditched her training clothes for ones she had on before, except her shirt was different. In fact, Han was fairly certain that shirt was _his_. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.

“I hope you don’t mind, the training droid malfunctioned and shot a hole right through the middle of my shirt. Chewie gave me this, and he said you wouldn’t care.”

“Uh no, it’s fine,” Han stumbled to reply. “It actually looks… better on you than it does on me. Like… you look really good.” Han almost slapped himself in the face. He had no idea why it was so hard to talk to her. His wit was the one thing he could always count on, and yet she made him sound like a fool.

She gave him a small smile and stood up. She untucked the shirt from her waistband, revealing the slightest bit of her abdomen. Han had to use every inch of his being not drop his jaw and start drooling right then and there. She let the shirt hang long and unrolled the sleeves. It went down to her knees, and the sleeves went at least six inches past her hands.

Han looked up at her face and saw her smile. They both let out a laugh almost in unison. The garment was clearly way too big for her. Han was glad that she could appreciate the humor in her appearance, instead of being embarrassed by it.

“Now you know why Chewie didn’t give me his own shirt– it would have gone all the way to the floor!” Leia joked as she tucked the shirt back in and started to re-roll the sleeves. Han forgot how small her frame really was in comparison to his own. He only wished he remembered sooner so he could have “accidentally” shrunk one of his older shirts for her.

Leia was having trouble rolling up the sleeves so that they would stay in place. As soon as she would let it go, it would unravel down her arm. “Do you have any safety pins or something?” she asked the captain.

“I can do you one better,” he replied, “come here.”

She sat back down in her chair and stuck out one arm in Han’s direction. He started to slowly and neatly fold the fabric into itself so it would stay in place once he was done.

“Where’d you learn how to do this?” Leia asked as he was almost finished with her first sleeve.

“The academy,” Han admitted, not looking up from his work. “I got accepted the day I turned eighteen and I never looked back. I spent a few years there training to be a fighter pilot before I realized which side I would really be fighting for. So, I wised up and left. I bought this spaceship from Jabba back on Tatooine and I’m still flying it today.”  
“So, if you’re not fighting for the Empire, does that make you a rebel?” she asked curiously as she turned so her other arm would be facing Han.

“No way,” he said quickly, “I may not be working for the Empire, but that doesn’t mean I’m working for the Rebels either. I’m my own man and I don’t pick sides. I just do the work that needs to be done so I can afford to keep flying this ship on my own dime.”

Leia was silent while he finished with her second sleeve. Her lips were pursed together forming a thin line. Han was eager to change the subject.

“So, is Obi-Wan your family?” he asked. “I mean, I just assumed he was and that’s why you two came together.”

“I’m not really sure,” she replied as she stared off through the window of the ship. “I mean, he knew my father, so maybe we’re related. But… it’s complicated.” There was something she wasn’t telling him, but he knew she wanted to. He pushed.

“Care to elaborate on that, princess?” He flashed her a wide grin. The nickname almost completely escaped his mind. He was glad he remembered it.

Leia rolled her eyes at the sound of her new nickname. “Well… I haven’t really had the chance to ask him about it. We just met yesterday.”

Han raised his eyebrows at that. They just met yesterday yet they were rushing to get to Alderaan like there was no tomorrow. “What does your father think of him?” he asked.

Leia turned away looking through the window again. Han could tell he had struck a nerve, but he wasn’t sure how. She was silent for a moment. He could see the sadness building up in her eyes. “I’m sorry, did I say something I shouldn’t have?” he asked. Han didn’t want her to be sad. He wanted to bring back that beautiful smile.

“No, it’s fine, it’s just…” she paused. “It’s just that I barely even know you if you think about it, but I keep getting this feeling like I can tell you what’s on my mind. I can’t decide if it’s stupid or smart to trust you, I guess.”

Han reached out his open hand towards her. “You can trust me, I promise,” he told her. “Besides, it’s not like I can tell anyone your deepest darkest secrets. Who would believe the words of a lowlife smuggler anyways?”

That last remark made Leia smile slightly and Han was happy he made her feel better. It wasn’t until she placed her hand in his that he started to get nervous. It was almost like a surge of electricity flowed from his hand through his entire body. He was almost certain she wasn’t going to take his hand, and then she did, always keeping him on his toes. His heart started beating faster and all he could do was hope that his hands didn’t start sweating. He took a deep breath and swallowed as he held onto her hand. His thumb started running in small circles on the back of her knuckles.

“The truth is I never knew my father or my mother. I was raised by my uncle and aunt and I grew up on their farm on Tatooine. The Empire… they murdered my family and destroyed our farm in search of the droids we have on board. That’s when I met Obi-Wan. The droids were meant to be delivered to him.”

“Wait a minute, so you’re telling me that you lost your family _yesterday_ and now you’re roaming around the galaxy with a man you barely know?” Han couldn’t decide if the story was entirely made up or if her life was really that tragic.

“It’s actually _two_ men I barely know if you count yourself,” she half joked as a tear fell down her face. She tried to hide it from him, but it was too obvious. Han tried to think of something, anything to say to her but he couldn’t. He just squeezed her hand and kept making circles with his thumb.

Leia told him about how her father was a Jedi like Obi-Wan and how the two fought in the Clone Wars together. She told him just about everything she found out about herself and her lineage in the past two days. He listened intensely to everything she said, hanging on her every word. But what Han really wanted to know was why the Empire was looking for the droids. He knew better than to ask, he _was_ a smuggler after all.

The two sat in silence for what seemed like forever. He wanted to say something comforting but he just couldn’t find the words. This girl had experienced so much loss and deception over the past 48 hours, he didn’t know how she was still standing. Finally, he worked up the courage to say the only thing that made sense.

“I’m sorry, princess.”

When she lifted her head to look at him, Han was expecting an icy glare or a bit of laughter. But instead, her eyes looked sad. Her lips wore a slight frown, but they were really trying to turn right side up. Her eyes locked with his and they just stared at each other. It wasn’t in an awkward way, but in more of a familiar way. It was as if they had done this a thousand times before. He could have sat there holding her hand and looking into her wondrous eyes for hours.

Suddenly, the autopilot alarm started going off. The two quickly dropped their hands and looked in opposite directions. Han went to work turning off the autopilot and getting the ship ready to come out of light speed. Leia left the control room. He figured that she was probably going to tell Obi-Wan they had arrived. Chewie walked in and started helping Han with the controls.

“I saw that you know,” Chewie said without taking his eyes off the controls.

“Bite me,” Han spit back. His cheeks started to turn a soft shade of pink.

Obi-Wan and Leia came back into the control room to see what was going on. Han eased the ship out of light speed and turned on manual steering. They were all expecting to see a giant planet right ahead of them, but what they saw was emptiness. There was nothing there. _This can’t be right,_ Han thought. He triple checked the navigational system to make sure they were functioning properly and that they were in fact at the coordinates the old man had provided him with. They were.

“Are you sure your coordinates are correct?” Han asked Obi-Wan.

“I’m positive,” he replied. His forehead was wrinkled and he looked deep in thought. Something was definitely not right.

“What’s that?” Leia pointed right over Han’s shoulder to a floating sphere.

“It’s a space station,” Obi-Wan replied. Han glanced over his shoulder at the old man. He had his eyes closed, how could he possibly know what it was?

“No, it’s too big to be a space station, it’s probably a moon.” Han assured the team. But as they drifted closer towards it, Han wasn’t so sure any more.

“I think you better turn the ship around,” Obi-Wan said wearily.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Han was already three steps ahead of him. “Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power… Lock in the auxiliary power!” The captain and the Wookie scrambled with the controls trying to turn them all around, but it was too late. They were caught in a tractor beam and being pulled towards the menacing space station.

“Chewie shut down the power. We’re not going down without a fight.”

“You can’t win,” Obi-Wan said to Han, “but there are alternatives.”  
Han had a bad feeling that the old man was right this time. He thought about his odds for a minute and then proceeded to listen to Obi-Wan’s idea. It was crazy alright, but it just might work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far! I know I haven't posted in a while but it's midterm week at my university. Next week I'll be on spring break so hopefully I get a lot of writing done then! I'm having the best time writing this fic for you guys. I wrote a lot of this chapter from Han's POV so next chapter will probably more from Leia's POV but no promises! Please let me know what you think of the chapter or of the work as a whole in the comments below!


End file.
